Coast Guard January 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone around construction vessels and mooring lines under the West Span of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge during the deck erection phase of construction. This safety zone will be in effect regardless of whether construction vessels are present or not. This zone approximately encompasses all waters from the Gig Harbor shoreline to just east of the west bridge caissons, extending 1500 feet north and south. The Coast Guard is taking this action to safeguard the public from possible collision with the vessels or their mooring lines, chains, or cables. Entry into this zone is prohibited unless authorized by the Captain of the Port, Puget Sound or his designated representatives.

The Coast Guard is changing the operating regulation governing the operation of the Stickney Point (SR 72) Bridge across the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, mile 68.6, Sarasota, Florida. The rule will require the drawbridge to open on the hour, twenty minutes past the hour and forty minutes past the hour.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the United States Coast Guard (Coast Guard), issues this final rule to further secure our Nation's ports and modes of transportation. This rule implements the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 and the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act of 2006. Those statutes establish requirements regarding the promulgation of regulations that require credentialed merchant mariners and workers with unescorted access to secure areas of vessels and facilities to undergo a security threat assessment and receive a biometric credential, known as a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). After DHS publishes a notice announcing the compliance date for each Captain of the Port (COTP) zone, persons without TWICs will not be granted unescorted access to secure areas at affected maritime facilities. Those seeking unescorted access to secure areas aboard affected vessels, and all Coast Guard credentialed merchant mariners must possess a TWIC by September 25, 2008. This final rule will enhance the security of ports by requiring such security threat assessments of persons in secure areas and by improving access control measures to prevent those who may pose a security threat from gaining unescorted access to secure areas of ports. With this final rule, the Coast Guard amends its regulations on vessel and facility security to require the use of the TWIC as an access control measure. The Coast Guard also amends its merchant mariner regulations to incorporate the requirement to obtain a TWIC. This final rule does not include the card reader requirements for owners and operators set forth in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued in this matter on May 22, 2006. Such requirements will be addressed in a future rulemaking. Although the card reader requirements are not being implemented at this time, the Coast Guard will institute periodic unannounced checks to confirm the identity of the holder of the TWIC. With this final rule, TSA applies its security threat assessment standards that currently apply to commercial drivers authorized to transport hazardous materials in commerce to merchant mariners and workers who require unescorted access to secure areas on vessels and at maritime facilities. This final rule amends TSA regulations in a number of ways. To minimize redundant background checks of workers, TSA amends the threat assessment standards to include a process by which TSA determines if a security threat assessment conducted by another governmental agency or by TSA for another program is comparable to the standards in this rule. TSA amends the qualification standards by changing the list of crimes that disqualify an individual from holding a TWIC or a hazardous materials endorsement. TSA expands the appeal and waiver provisions to apply to TWIC applicants and air cargo employees who undergo a security threat assessment. These modifications include a process for the review of adverse waiver decisions and certain disqualification cases by an administrative law judge (ALJ). TSA also extends the time period in which applicants may apply for an appeal or waiver. Finally, this rule establishes the user fee for the TWIC and invites comment on one component of the fee, the card replacement fee. Under this rule, TSA will begin issuing first generation TWIC cards at initial port deployment locations. These TWIC cards will not initially support contactless biometric operations, but the TWIC cards will be functional with certain existing access control systems in use at ports today. TSA and the Coast Guard have established a working group, comprised of members of the maritime and technology industries, through the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee (NMSAC), a federal advisory committee to the Coast Guard. This working group, in consultation with the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), is tasked with recommending the contactless biometric software specification for TWIC cards. TSA will publish a notice detailing the draft contactless biometric software specification for TWIC cards no later than the date by which it publishes the final TWIC fee as required by this Rule. Currently those notices are expected to be published in February 2007. TSA will subsequently publish a final specification for TWIC contactless biometric software functionality and the associated specifications for TWIC card readers. TSA plans also to write electronically the contactless biometric software application to all issued TWIC cards after publication of this specification. After initial field testing, this additional contactless biometric function will be included with all TWIC cards produced after publication of the contactless biometric software specification. Although this rule goes into effect on March 26, 2007, the requirements to hold a TWIC, and to restrict access to secure areas of a facility or OCS facility, will be effective only after the regulated party is notified by DHS. These notifications will be published in the Federal Register and will require compliance on a COTP by COTP basis. Those seeking unescorted access to secure areas aboard affected vessels, and all Coast Guard credentialed merchant mariners must possess a TWIC by September 25, 2008.

The Commander, Eighth Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the BNSF Railway Company Vertical Lift Span Bridge across Berwick Bay, mile 0.4 (Atchafalaya River, mile 17.5), at Morgan City, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. This deviation provides for the bridge to remain closed to navigation for 12 consecutive hours to conduct scheduled maintenance to the drawbridge.

The Commander, First Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the Amtrak railroad bridge across the Mystic River, mile 2.4, at Mystic, Connecticut. Under this temporary deviation, the bridge may remain in the closed position from February 2, 2007 through February 4, 2007. This deviation is necessary to facilitate scheduled bridge maintenance.

The Coast Guard is removing the established safety zone around the wreck of the M/V ROY A. JODREY, St. Lawrence River, Wellesley Island, NY. The safety zone was necessary for restricting recreational diving while conducting oil removal operations aboard the sunken vessel. The safety zone is no longer needed and the Coast Guard is removing the regulation.

On January 23, 2006, the Coast Guard published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to revise the regulated navigation area in Savannah, Georgia, to address changes in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tankship mooring locations following the creation of two new berths within a slip at the Southern LNG facility on the Savannah River. The previous rule only addressed facility and vessel requirements when an LNG vessel was underway or was moored parallel to the navigational channel outside of the slip. This interim rule describes requirements for three different potential mooring situations following the expansion: an LNG tankship moored outside of the slip, one or more LNG tankships moored inside the slip, and LNG tankships moored both inside and outside of the slip. This interim rule will become effective on February 20, 2007. However, we still encourage you to participate in this rulemaking by submitting comments and related material to the docket. We will accept comments for 60 days from the date this rule is published in the Federal Register, after which we intend to publish a final rule. Any comments received will be considered in the final rule. This interim rule is necessary to ensure safe navigation of the Savannah River and the safe transfer of LNG in the Port of Savannah.

This notice announces the meeting of the Subcommittee of the Chemical Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC) on the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 472 Standard. The Subcommittee on the NFPA 472 Standard will meet to discuss the formation of a new marine emergency responder chapter in NFPA 472, Professional Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials Incidents. This meeting will be open to the public.

The Commander, First Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the Amtrak Bridge across Shaw Cove, mile 0.0., at New London, Connecticut. Under this temporary deviation, an advance notice shall be required for bridge openings during designated bridge opening time periods each day from January 5, 2007 through March 30, 2007; however, bridge openings shall be provided at any time for DDLC Energy, if at least a 24-hour advance notice is given. This deviation is necessary to facilitate scheduled bridge maintenance.

The Commander, Eleventh Coast Guard District, has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operation of the Steamboat Slough Drawbridge across Steamboat Slough, mile 11.2, near Paintersville, CA. This deviation allows the bridge to remain in the closed-to-navigation position during the deviation period. The deviation is necessary for the bridge owner, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), to refurbish and replace aging operating machinery.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary security zone encompassing certain waters of the Potomac River and Anacostia River in order to safeguard high-ranking public officials from terrorist acts and incidents. This action is necessary to ensure the safety of persons and property, and prevent terrorist acts or incidents. This rule prohibits vessels and people from entering the security zone and requires vessels and persons in the security zone to depart the security zone, unless specifically exempt under the provisions in this rule or granted specific permission from the Coast Guard Captain of the Port Baltimore.

The Coast Guard is establishing a permanent security zone due to changes in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tankship mooring arrangements following the activation of two new berths within a slip at the Southern LNG Facility on the Savannah River. The security zone includes all the waters from surface to bottom of the northeastern most mooring dolphin to the southeastern most mooring dolphin and continues west along the North and South shoreline of the mooring slip to the shoreline of the right descending bank of the Savannah River. This regulation is necessary to protect life and property on the navigable waters of the Savannah River and within the LNG slip due to potential security risks associated with the LNG Facility.

The Coast Guard is withdrawing its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) concerning the establishment of safety zones throughout the Great Lakes for the purpose of conducting gunnery training. The Coast Guard is authorized to conduct training in realistic conditions and in locations including in, on, and over the internal waters of the United States. In order to maximize safety, the NPRM proposed establishing safety zones in order to maintain Coast Guard control over the training area during training periods. This NPRM is being withdrawn, however, because of comments received from the public regarding the number and location of the proposed safety zones, the frequency of use, notification procedures as well as other concerns raised by the public. There will be no further gunnery training on the Great Lakes to satisfy non-emergency training requirements unless we first propose to the public and then publish a final rule. Because the Coast Guard is mandated to provide for the safety and security of the more than 30 million people in Great Lakes region, the critical infrastructure that make up the Great Lakes system, and the vessels that use it, we are evaluating all available options, including a new NPRM for gunnery training.

The Coast Guard has amended anchorage regulations for the Sabine Pass Channel, Sabine Pass, TX anchorage in order to improve navigation safety for vessels entering and exiting Cheniere Energy's liquefied natural gas terminal. This rule reduces the overall size of the existing anchorage.

This notice requests individuals interested in serving on the South Texas Area Maritime Security (STAMS) Committee to submit their application for membership, effective February 26, 2007, to the Corpus Christi Captain of the Port/Federal Maritime Security Coordinator.